🌍 Thinking about postgrad study in Earth & Environmental Sciences? Explore our taught & research Master's, or dive into a PhD. Find out more on our website: www.esc.cam.ac.uk/postgraduate #PhD #PhDOpportunities

Playing spot the pebbles in the very last meter of ice drilled at Skytrain Ice Rise (~650 meters deep) with @wacswain.bsky.social and PhD student Yu Huang @bas.ac.uk @cambridge-earthsci.bsky.social @gatescambridge.bsky.social

🦴New fossil alert🦴 Introducing Aeviperditus gracilis, a possible bowerbird from the Miocene of New Zealand. My first fossil description! Artwork by the amazing Sasha Votyakova (Te Papa CC-BY-SA) (🧵1/11)

Check out our @aunz.theconversation.com article covering the St Bathans #bowerbird story! theconversation.com/a-tiny-fossi... @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social @atennyson.bsky.social @plubbe.bsky.social

🧭Some giant magnetofossils may have acted as magnetoreceptors in motile animals, with a magnetic structure optimised to respond to magnetic field intensity variations. @cambridge-earthsci.bsky.social 👉Read more here: www.nature.com/articles/s43...

🌋 Sixty million years ago, a mantle plume beneath the North Atlantic triggered extensive volcanic activity—leaving behind iconic sites like the Giant’s Causeway & Fingal’s Cave🌋 New research explains why: thinner patches in Earth’s lithosphere funnelled the plume’s hot rocks far and wide.

Magmas move rapidly beneath the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER), suggesting that an efficient rift magmatic system has already developed despite its relative tectonic immaturity! New research in Nature Geoscience: doi.org/10.1038/s415... 1/6

⚒️ Article: Rapid crustal transit of magmas beneath the Main Ethiopian Rift @geokevw.bsky.social @murphyqm.bsky.social @envleeds.bsky.social @cambridge-earthsci.bsky.social @oxuniearthsci.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Spiky-toothed 'penis worms', rock-scraping molluscs and filter-feeding crustaceans are among a new treasure trove of fossils found at the Grand Canyon. Explore the find from PhD student Giovanni Mussini 👇 www.cam.ac.uk/stories/gran...

We are delighted to celebrate two outstanding @uk-comet.bsky.social Scientists, Professor Marie Edmonds @cambridge-earthsci.bsky.social and Professor @davidmpyle.bsky.social (@ox.ac.uk), elected Fellows of the Royal Society this year: royalsociety.org/news/2025/05... 🎉 Read more: wp.me/p5NBzI-1Zg

This time last week our part III students were in southern Spain, exploring Almería’s exceptionally varied geology 🌞⛰️ There's something for everyone on this trip: metamorphic rocks, overlying reefs, evaporites and turbidite basins, volcanic centres, and major fault zones!! #Fieldwork #Geoscience

🌿 We're thrilled to be hosted by Fitzwilliam College today for a conference on research on the Fenland landscape. A fantastic opportunity to discuss the potential future for the landscape. @NERCscience #LandscapeRegeneration #Fenland #Sustainability #EnvironmentalResearch #CambridgeUniversity

May Adam Sedgwick look upon us with favour. #camfest @cambridgefestival.bsky.social @cambridge-earthsci.bsky.social @bas.ac.uk

🎉 The latest issue of GeoCam is here! Meet our new Head of Department, uncover fascinating research, hear alumni stories, explore student mapping trips, and enjoy vibrant updates from @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social 📖 Read in full here: www.esc.cam.ac.uk/alumni/alumn...

🎶 What if you could play a microscope image of a #mineral like a record? Scientists from Cambridge & Anglia Ruskin have turned #volcanic mineral images into magical music! Hear their melodies at the #CambridgeFestival tomorrow, 4:30 PM. 🌍✨Register here: www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/hidde...

Studying Earth Sciences opens doors to careers that make a real difference in society🌎Former PhD student Matthew Brady now works for a carbon credit ratings agency, helping organisations make better climate decisions. Read more about Matthew's journey! ➡️ unicamcareers.edublogs.org/2025/03/17/c...

Last week, our first-year students went on their very first field trip to Ketton Quarry! 🪨🐚 🥳 Here they are, proudly showcasing some of their fossil discoveries, including star-shaped segments of crinoid stems, ammonites, brachiopods, and bivalves. #Geology #Fieldwork #Fossils #Palaeontology

New perspective article discussing how we define natural hazards in today's world. Key message: a barrier between 'human' and 'natural' events is often unhelpful, and we must consider the interaction between multiple hazards in all cases. www.nature.com/articles/s44304-025-00071-w

🌏 How 'natural' are natural hazards?🌋Cambridge geoscientists and geographers will tackle this compelling question in a live webinar tomorrow, 13th March. Join the conversation and discover how Cambridge research is making real-world impact! Link to register below 👇 #NaturalHazards #Webinar

When warm seawater seeps under #Antarctic ice shelves it melts them from below and destabilizes glaciers🌊 🌍Researchers used model simulations to reveal the importance of seasonal changes in triggering warm water intrusions; urging for these dynamics to be included in ice loss forecasts.

Cambridge geoscientists are mapping the global distribution of critical metals in unusual igneous rocks to locate secure #RareEarthElement deposits. Sally Gibson and Sergei Lebedev are studying carbonatite rocks, which host rare earths, and their relationship to the thickness of Earth's lithosphere.

Duygu Sevilgen has built a coral lab in the basement of an old Zoology building. Here, 10 experimental tanks host multicoloured miniature forests, with each tank representing a different marine environment. #ClimateChange #Biodiversity

There are many ways to study rocks up-close! 🔬💎 These thin section drawings and images are of feldspar-pyroxene xenoliths, brought up from beneath Fagradalsfjall, Iceland, by erupted basalts🌋 #ThinSectionTuesday #Petrology

Did you know that mountain ranges like the Himalayas play a role in drawing carbon out of the atmosphere through erosion? Our researchers headed out to Nepal during the monsoon season to study water-rock interactions, bringing about 60 kgs of rainwater samples back to Cambridge for analysis!

Wetlands may be a secret weapon in tackling climate change, due to their ability to lock away carbon in waterlogged vegetation 🦆🌊🌿 But drainage can instead turn wetlands into carbon emitters. PhD student Thomas Marquand is researching the carbon capture potential of Cambridgeshire’s Fenland soils.

Did you know that mountain ranges like the Himalayas play a role in drawing carbon out of the atmosphere through erosion? Our researchers headed out to Nepal during the monsoon season to study water-rock interactions, bringing about 60 kgs of rainwater samples back to Cambridge for analysis!

Hard to believe it was only a week ago that I returned from the incredible place that is Antartica via the Sir David Attenborough, a truly amazing ship! All part of the SiCLING BAS & @cambridge-earthsci.bsky.social NERC project led by PI Kate Hendry (BAS). Excited for future sample analyses!

What’s the story behind this fascinating rock? It is laminated layers of shales and jaspers found in North West Queensland, Australia, formed 500 million years ago. These colourful layers do not align because they have been faulted (fractured and displaced). #TectonicTuesday #Faulting #Geology

Beneath Iceland lies a plume of hot mantle rock. It's thought that this plume pulses, in turn influencing volcanism and ocean currents🌋 But scientists haven't been sure about the geological processes at play. Cambridge PhD students joined a North Atlantic research cruise to unravel the mystery!

In 2019, scientists from Cambridge and @bas.ac.uk drilled a 651-metre-long ice core from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to study its behaviour during the Last Interglacial, when polar regions were 3°C warmer and sea levels higher🧊 After years of analysis, they have published their findings in Nature!

WACSWAIN has just published the main outcome of our project. Article entitled "The Ronne Ice Shelf survived the last interglacial", out today in Nature www.nature.com/articles/s41... @cambridge-earthsci.bsky.social @royalsociety.org @ercresearch.bsky.social Explanation follows

This footage shows the 2021 eruption of Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma, which spewed lava onto 12 square kilometres of populated land🌋 Our Prof. Marie Edmonds and colleagues flew drones into these volcanic plumes to investigate emissions of volcanic pollutants. Video credit: Emma Nicholson.

Could kelp forests help sequester carbon and combat climate change? 🌊📷PhD student Zhenna Azimrayat Andrews joined a team led by Stanford University to explore the viability of kelp as a marine CO2 (mCDR) technology. Read more: blog.esc.cam.ac.uk/unlocking-th... Photo credit: Jenny Adler

Do you know what mineral made this megalodon tooth so big and strong? It is called Apatite. As well as strengthening our bones and teeth, apatite is a key mineral in the fossilisation process. The apatite coating can be seen on the tooth with a section in the centre stripped away. #MineralMonday

Professor Sanne Cottaar uses #earthquake waves to gaze deep into Earth’s interior, “It sometimes feels like the Earth is throwing clues at me. It’s my job to put it all together and solve the mystery." Read on to find out what it means to be a Deep Earth Explorer ➡️ www.cam.ac.uk/stories/sann...

Very exciting news from the Beyond-EPICA Oldest Ice project. Ice at least 1.2 million years in stratigraphic order collected from Antarctica. www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/h...

How can you move a mountain? 🗻 The Sedgwick Museum is in the final stages of relocating our collection to the Collections Research Centre. Approximately 150 tonnes of rock have been sent to their new home. It's like moving a mountain, one piece at a time. #MoveAMountainMonday #CollectionsMove

The 7 Jan deadline for #PhD applications is fast approaching! Make sure to check our guidance on applying and reach out to prospective supervisors. We’re here to help you with your application! www.esc.cam.ac.uk/news/new-ner...

Watch these snowflake-like dendritic clinopyroxenes twinkle as this thin section is rotated in cross-polarised light!❄️☃️ This is a rare volcanic rock called komatiite, from Gorgona. Credit: Charlie Gordon. #ThinSectionTuesday #Petrology #Mineralogy

Think you’d like to study a #PhD in #EarthScience? 🌎🌱 Current PhD students Zhenna, Devesh and Alice offer their top tips for those interested in applying!

Happy to say my paper on Charles Darwin's chalcopyrite specimen is now available journals.le.ac.uk/index.php/ma... I explore how this specimen connects to global stories of extraction & exploitation, and how it enables us to share & discuss these challenging issues with museum visitors

Next up is @philvixseboxse.bsky.social former DTE member talking about his PhD work @cambridge-earthsci.bsky.social with Alex Liu and colleagues

Think you’d like to study a #PhD in #EarthScience? 🌎🌱 Current PhD students Zhenna, Devesh and Alice offer their top tips for those interested in applying!

Join us for a #PhD in #palaeontology🦕If you’re interested in evolutionary #paleobiology and palaeoecology and its links to environmental change then our researchers would love to chat with you about designing a project.

Looking for #PhD opportunities in #IgneousPetrology? 🌋Feel free to reach out to our researchers to discuss possible project ideas on themes such as crustal magmatic systems, diffusion chronometry, global volatile cycles, Icelandic volcanism and more!

My big paper on the 2021 Fagradalsfjall eruption is finally out! If you want to understand the recent eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula better, look no further: doi.org/10.1029/2024... Let’s dive in to what we found: 🧵 1/8

Looking for #PhD opportunities in #IgneousPetrology? 🌋Feel free to reach out to our researchers to discuss possible project ideas on themes such as crustal magmatic systems, diffusion chronometry, global volatile cycles, Icelandic volcanism and more!

Nice to see a busy careers event last night, organised by the Sedgwick Club! Lots of helpful information on available opportunities and career guidance. And lovely to see some of our alumni too! #Geology #EarthScience #Careers #womeninstem

We are excited to announce our Department will be hosting a series of new #PhD studentships, starting from Oct 2025! 🥳 The studentships will be in the field of environmental science, working on topics at the heart of some of the most pressing societal challenges #EarthScience